I just read a post on Facebook.
It said:
I hate lard.
I hate buttermilk.
And I’m not wild about flour.
But……..I love biscuits.
My first son died of a GI bleed 16 years ago.
My youngest son died of cirrhosis 2 years ago.
My only remaining son despises me.
His wife is mad and will not let me see my granddaughter who is the one of the joys of my life.
And
I believe that God is in control of all of this.
I believe that God is in charge of this mess that is my life…… today………that he has things just the way he wants them.
I believe that God loves me and has a plan for me……..a plan for my good.
So……in light of what’s going on in my life today………. Do I trust God?
I have to……..what are my choices?
Plan A: (Job’s wife’s plan) “Curse God and die”.
This amounts to lashing out at my creator because I don’t like where I am today……….because I am unhappy with the mess. In effect, I am trying to punish God for the mess by withholding my affection……..my relationship. If I was God, this would work. But I’m not God ……..he is. Recall that he created all of this….and he can end it at his whim.
Plan B: (modern society’s plan). “Deny God”
Very similar to Plan A. This has the advantage of eliminating the foolishness of grabbing a tiger by the tail by eliminating the tiger altogether. And it works great…………. as long as science has all of the answers……..as long as Darwin is right. But it goes down the toilet (or worse) if Darwin and science have missed something……. and every day we learn something new that Darwin and science have missed. Plan B also goes down the toilet if science fails to explain key observations……..like what caused the big bang…….or all of that missing “dark matter”. It also goes down the toilet if this planet falls apart……….just take a look around.
Plan C: (God’s plan) “Trust me………I’m working on it.”
Just like the baker, God is up to his elbows in the lard and the buttermilk……..and right now it’s a little messy…….OK……maybe a LOT messy. As humans, we have a lot of trouble with this because we are constrained by time. We remember the past(at least some of it). We see the present(at least some of it). But, the future is hidden. All we see is the mess. But, God sees it all. God sees the billions of possible futures ahead of me………futures that will be determined by the thousands of decisions that I will make today. In my life every trial that I have faced has turned out well in the end………if I allow it enough time………if I allow God enough time. This calls for patience. And this calls for trust. I choose to give God my trust in return for his promise. What I get in return…….in the present………is hope.
I’m not after sympathy here……….. I’m exactly where God wants me to be………… and I’m headed for someplace really nice……..in a little bit.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
God. NIV